Child&#39;s garment



April 12, 1955 M. SHELDRICK ETAL 2,705,803

CHILD'S GARMENT Filed Aug. 10 1951 INVENTORS MABEL SHELDRICK CLARA E.EEA/Cfi/OFF ma /M A T riaA/eys United States Patent CHILDS GARMENT MabelSheldrick and Clara E. Bencholf, New York, N. Y.

Application August 10, 1951, Serial No. 241,292

Claims. (Cl. 280) This invention relates to improvements in garments andin particular to play-suit or swim suit type garments for infants orchildren.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a garment of thetype described which, when worn, presents to the child the appearance ofan animal or the like, thus providing a novel and pleasing appearance.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a garment of thetype described in which the bodice thereof is made in the form of thehead of an animal or the like, this bodice portion being given arelatively stiff preformed shape to impart to it a three-dimensionaleffect, without detracting from the comfort or utility of the garment.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent inthe course of the following specification when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front plan view of the garment made according to theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a rear plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the bodice portion of the garment,taken along line 44 of Fig. l; and,

Fig. 5 is a section along line 55 of Fig. 1.

While the garment may be made to present the effect of any sort ofcharacter such as a clown, fictional character, or the like, the mostpleasing and unusual effect appears to be presented when the garment ismade in simulation of the entire body of an animal. Accordingly, thedrawings illustrate a preferred embodiment in which the garment isimparted with the appearance of an animal.

The garment generally comprises a bodice or upper portion and a trunk orlower portion 11. These portions 10 and 11 are separately made, as willbe presently described, and may optionally be made of difierent fabricmaterials. v

Trunk portion 11 is a tubular form fitting body en closure which has anopen top end 12 and a pair of leg openings 13. Said trunk portion 11 isconstructed to extend from the crotch to the upper stomach region of thewearer. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rear upper edge of said trunkportion 11 is preferably cut low so that it is located at the waist ofthe wearer. The trunk portion 11 may also have a separately insertedtrunk panel 14, on the top edge of which it has a width approx matelyequal to the width of the bodice portion 10 and 18 attached thereto.This trunk panel 14 may be provided with a shirred portion 15 directlybeneath the bodice portion 10 to present the effect of the neck of theanimal.

The bodice portion 10 is positioned to be located directly over thechest of the wearer. Said bodice portion 10 is hollow and completelyenclosed, consisting of a front wall 16 and a rear wall 17 which arestitched together along their peripheral edges by a continuous line ofstitching 28. The rear wall 17 is fiat and planar, being thus adapted tolie flush against the chest of the wearer. The front wall 16 is made ofa plurality of separate sections of selected lengths and widths whichvary to enable portions of front wall 16 to project, thus presenting athree-dimensional effect in the head of the animal. In the embodimentillustrated, the front wall 16 is composed of a pair of identical sidesections 18 and a central intermediate section 19. The inner edges ofthe side sections 18 are cut complementary to the edges of the centralsection 19, and the matching edges are stitched together along theirentire lengths by lines of 0 stitching 20. The central section 19 ismade of a length 2,705,803 Patented Apr. 12, 1955 which is appreciablygreater than the height of the finished head so that it projectsforwardly or bulges at or adjacent the center as indicated at 21 inFigs. 3 and 4. Simi larly, the inner central portion of side sections 18are made of an extended width so that together with the central section19, a transverse convexity is provided. This presents a distinct relief,in the projecting physiognomy of the animal. The edges of the side andcentral sections 18 and 19 are selectively cut to control the bulging ofthe front wall 16 and to locate this bulging in the proper positions forpresenting the effect of a protruding nose and the like.

To maintain the proper outward protuberance of the front wall 16 whichwould tend to collapse or flatten out in use, a lining 22 of relativelyrigid material is cut in the same proportions as the front wall 16, ispreformed, and is inserted within the interior of the hollow bodiceportion 10 in abutment with said front wall 16. As shown in Fig. 5, thislining 22 may be made in three sections 22a, 22b, and 22c whichcorrespond in size and shape to the respective side and central sectionsof said front wall 16. This lining 22 may be made of any suitablematerial such as buckram, vinyl plastic or the like. In themanufacturing of swim suits, it is preferred to use a plastic liningsince materials such as buckram tend to deteriorate in water. Suchsuitable material is sufficiently rigid to maintain its shape in use,yet flexible enough to prevent injury to the child in case of a fall,blow on the chest, etc.

A pair of shoulder straps 23 are connected at one end to the side upperedges of the rear wall 17, and are removably joined at their oppositeends to the rear upper edge of the trunk portion 11, as by extendingthrough a loop 24 secured to said rear upper edge. When the garment isworn therefore, these shoulder straps maintain said rear wall 17 in itsflat and planar form against the chest of the wearer. The said rear wall17 thus determines the size of the completed animal head. The protrudingform of the front wall 16 is thus determined by the differences inlength and width between the sections comprising said front wall and therear wall 17.

Suitable ornamentation may be provided to enhance the effect of theanimal or character. For example, a pair of ears 25 may be added byfolding suitably shaped pieces of material and sewing them along theirbottom edges at the stitch lines 18 and 20. Similarly, a pair of buttons26 may be sewn on the front Wall 16 to represent a pair of eyes. In alike fashion, members may be added to represent a nose, tongue, tail,etc. The trunk portion 11 may be made of latex, rayon, or othermaterial, adapted for use in water, suitably colored or printed toprovide the effect of the animal body. Alternatively, the trunk portion11 may be made of a rough material to present a fuzzy effect, whichmaterial may be internally lined with latex or the like.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and describedherein, it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions and additionsmay be made without departing from its scope.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fabric article of manufacture, a face-simulating portion formedas an integral part thereof, said portion comprising a rear support Wallof flexible fabric material joined to said article of manufacture, and aflexible fabric front wall secured to said rear wall around itsperiphery to define a hollow head portion therewith, said front wallbeing formed of a plurality of joined matching panels of varying lengthsand widths joined together along their edges, the over-all area of saidfront wall being greater than the area of said rear wall to provide aprotruding area having the contour of a face, and a single sheet ofsemi-rigid stiffening material secured within the interior of saidhollow head portion in substantial flush abutment with said front wall,said stiffening material having a pre-formed convex shape defining thecontour of said face and maintaining the front wall in its protrudingform, said sheet being normally shape-retaining and being bendable underpressure.

2. A child's garment simulating the body of an animal or the like,comprising a lower portion encasing the trunk region of the child and ahollow upper portion shaped to simulate the head of said animal and tocover the chest region of the child, said upper portion made of.flexible fabric material stitched along its lower edge to the frontupper edge of the lower portion, the upper portion having a front wallcut to protrude forwardly to define the contour of the simulated head,and pre-formed stiffening means of semi-rigid material secured withinthe hollow upper portion in abutment with said front wall and having apre-formed shape simulating the front contour of the animal head andbeing effective to cause the front wall of said upper portion toprotrude outwardly, said stiffen ing means being bendable underpressure.

3. A childs garment simulating the body of an animal or the like,comprising a lower garment portion encasing the trunk region of thechild and a hollow upper portion shaped to simulate the head of ananimal and to cover the chest region of the child, said upper portionbeing made of flexible fabric material stitched along its lower edge tothe front upper edge of the lower portion, the upper portion having afront wall cut to protrude to define the contour of the simulated animalhead and a single sheet of stiffening material secured within saidhollow upper portion in flush abutment with said front wall and having apre-formed convex shape simulating the front contour of the animal headand being effective to maintain the front wall of said upper portionprotruding outwardly, said sheet being normally shaperetaining and beingbendable under pressure.

4. A childs garment simulating the body of an animal or the like,comprising a lower garment portion encasing the trunk region of thechild and simulating the body of an animal, and a hollow upper portionshaped to simulate the head of an animal and to cover the chest regionof the child, said upper portion being made of flexible fabric materialstitched along its lower edge to the front upper edge of the lowerportion, said upper portion being hollow and having a front and rearWall joined together along their peripheral edges, a pair of shoulderstraps connecting said upper and lower garment portions and arranged tohold the rear wall of said upper portion flat against the chest regionof the child wearer, the front wall having a greater area than said rearwall and being stitched intermediate its edges to provide forwardlyprotruding portions which define the contour of the animal face, and asingle sheet of semi-rigid stiffening material inserted within theinterior of said hollow upper portion and of substantially the same sizeas said front wall, said sheet being joined to the front and rear wallsalong their joined peripheral edges and being also connected to thefront wall at its stitched portions to lie in flush abutment against theinner surface of said front wall, said sheet being normallyshape-retaining, having a pre-formed convex shape defining the animalface and being bendable under pressure.

5. A childs. garment according to claim 4 in which the front wall isformed of a plurality of joined matching panels of varying length andwidths joined together along their edges, said sheet of stiffeningmaterial being also formed of a similar number of matching panels joinedtogether and to the panels of the front wall along their respectiveedges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.51,303 Hincks Sept. 25, 1917 D. 138,997 Goldberger Oct. 3, 1944 D.155,752 Vivadou Oct. 25, 1949 1,783,720 Keney Dec. 2, 1930 1,789,077Levy Jan. 13, 1931 2,391,131 Clark Dec. 18, 1945 2,513,019 Grady June27, 1950

